UMich Retirees Podcast

"With this unflinching account, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson invites readers into her life and world, tracing her family’s ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America’s highest court within the span of one generation." "Justice Jackson pulls back the curtain, marrying the public record of her life with what is less known. She reveals what it takes to advance in the legal profession whe...

Based on a true story, two down-on-their-luck musicians (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson) form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams.

"Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath". "They are trained by the centaur...

"A brilliant reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—both harrowing and satirical—told from the enslaved Jim's point of view." "When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literat...

Discussion of the book: "Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life" by Jon Kabat-Zinn "The author maps out a simple path for cultivating mindfulness in one's own life. It speaks both to those coming to meditation for the first time and to longtime practitioners, anyone who cares deeply about reclaiming the richness of his or her moments."

"An astonishing novel about a young microbiologist investigating an unfathomable deep vent in the ocean floor, leading her on a journey that will encompass the full trajectory of the cosmos and the passage of a single human life." "Exploring the natural world with the wonder and reverence we usually reserve for the stars, In Ascension is a compassionate, deeply inquisitive epic that reaches outwar...

The Power of Singing, the Power of Song Matt Watroba Folk Singer Join us and enjoy a demonstration of the healing and unifying power of community singing. Inspired by the work of Pete Seeger, Watroba will use a variety of song genres and techniques to create an experience that is as entertaining as it is uplifting and healing. Many know Matt Watroba as the voice of folk music in Michigan for his w...

Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read But Probably Didn't by John Atkinson is a humorous, cartoon-illustrated book that offers ultra-short, witty synopses of famous literary works, making classic novels accessible and funny for those who missed reading them, featuring irreverent summaries like "Old ladies convince a guy to ruin Scotland" for Macbeth. 

"When Abraham Verghese, a physician whose marriage is unraveling, relocates to El Paso, Texas, he hopes to make a fresh start as a staff member at the county hospital. There he meets David Smith, a medical student recovering from drug addiction, and the two men begin a tennis ritual that allows them to shed their inhibitions and find security in the sport they love and with each other. This friend...

Ta-Nehisi Coates began The Message intending to write about writing, but it evolved into a meditation on how stories and myths shape—and distort—our realities. In three linked essays, Coates journeys from Dakar to South Carolina to Palestine, each revealing a struggle between myth and truth. In Dakar, he confronts the romantic Afrocentric visions of his youth against the tangible legacy of slavery...

"When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade, she came home one day to find that her dad had left a paperback titled The Double Helix on her bed. As she sped through the pages, she became enthralled by the intense drama behind the competition to discover the code of life. Even though her high school counselor told her girls didn’t become scientists, she decided she would." "Driven by a passion to unde...

"A heart-warming sequel to the international bestseller The Elephant Whisperer, by Lawrence Anthony's wife Françoise Malby-Anthony." "A blonde, chic Parisienne, Françoise never expected to find herself living on a South African game reserve. But when she fell in love with renowned conservationist Lawrence Anthony her life took an unexpected turn. Lawrence died in 2012 and Françoise was left to fac...

"The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchan...

"Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now." "Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still...

"All of us have in our minds a cartoon image of what an autocratic state looks like, with a bad man at the top. But in the 21st century, that cartoon bears little resemblance to reality. Nowadays, autocracies are run not by one bad guy, but by sophisticated networks composed of kleptocratic financial structures, security services and professional propagandists. The members of these networks are co...

ChatGPT Unveiled: Exploring the Power of AI Conversations Edward Adams Former Chief Technology Officer Stephen M. Ross School of Business Ever wonder what it would be like to have an intelligent conversation with a computer? A conversation exploring history, science and the arts; taking deep dives into philosophy, physics, medicine, and economics; discussing current books, movies and theater; enga...

"In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, an...

"Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, a novel of large beauty and power, creates a magical world out of four generations of black life in America, a world we enter on the day of the birth of Macon Dead, Jr. (known as Milkman), son of the richest black family in a mid-western town; the day on which the lonely insurance man, Robert Smith, poised in blue silk wings, attempts to fly from a steeple of the...

Why Incompetence Fails to Recognize Itself David Dunning Professor of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Faculty Associate in the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research   Professor Dunning discusses the psychology underlying the notorious "Dunning-Kruger Effect," where people remain unaware of their incompetence and ignorance, thus left with i...

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is a book about three female code breakers -- Osla, Mab and Beth -- at Bletchley Park during WWII. The women form a friendship (and a book club) over the years, but a betrayal and traitor among their colleagues lands one of them in locked up in an asylum in the years after the war. But through a letter carefully smuggled out, she's able to issue a cry for help from her...

"Happy Days, The Andy Griffith Show, Gentle Ben—these shows captivated millions of TV viewers in the ’60s and ’70s. Join award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard and audience-favorite actor Clint Howard as they frankly and fondly share their unusual family story of navigating and surviving life as sibling child actors." "With the perspective of time and success—Ron as a filmmaker, producer, and Hollywoo...

Tax Follies & Wisdom: Odd to Horrific Episodes from Ancient to Present Joel Slemrod Paul W. McCracken Professor of Business Economics and Public policy and Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business Professor of Economics in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts     Professor Slemrod, an authority on tax policy design, is known for hi...